Collegiate Wind Competition Industry Engagement Opportunities

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and organizers with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are always working to grow our community of industry partners to support students participating in the Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC).

Due to its interdisciplinary nature, the competition draws students from a variety of programs, including:

  • Business
  • Communications
  • Computer science
  • Economics
  • Engineering
  • Energy systems
  • Environmental studies
  • Finance
  • Integrated science and technology
  • Physics.
Three CWC team members speak to an industry professional and take notes.

The CWC is a great opportunity for members of the wind industry to connect with future wind energy professionals.

Photo from Werner Slocum, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Getting Involved

Your involvement in the CWC helps students build their professional networks and identify wind energy jobs that fit their interests and strengths. You can get involved with the CWC in several ways:

Recruit

  • Share wind-energy-related internship and entry-level job opportunities suitable for students and recent graduates on our LinkedIn page.
  • Participate in virtual and in-person networking events throughout the year.
  • Time commitment: 1–5 hours per school year.
  • Financial commitment: None.

Inspire

  • Describe your career trajectory to CWC students on conference calls or in educational webinars.
  • Time commitment: Flexible. 1 hour per engagement.
  • Financial commitment: None.

Mentor

  • Guide students as they complete their competition activities throughout the academic year. This can be a long-term or one-time engagement.
  • Time commitment: Flexible. Likely 12–36 hours per school year.
  • Financial commitment: None.

Support

  • Introduce students to industry-leading software that they can use to create their contest deliverables.
  • Provide funding to help students buy or build equipment, attend the final event, support faculty advisors, and more.
  • Time commitment: If you introduce students to software, you and the students you work with can negotiate a time commitment that works for their needs and your availability.
  • Financial commitment: To be determined by you and your organization.

Evaluate

  • Serve as a competition judge and assess team presentations and submissions.
  • Time commitment: About 40 hours over approximately 1 month for the final CWC event.

Explore testimonials from wind energy industry members who have partnered with CWC in the past. 

CWC Industry Partners

The CWC is proud to partner with the following organizations (this list shows a representative sample of CWC partners):